


Counting On

by wickedrum



Category: Heroes - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Sylaire - Freeform, Whump, petlar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29010630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedrum/pseuds/wickedrum
Summary: Set: Towards the end of Book 5, Claire has finally accepted being underground with the Petrelli Movement, though she’d still like to keep away from Sylar, a wish he has every intention to honour...AU from there, with little regard to the events of Reborn.
Relationships: Claire Bennet/Sylar | Gabriel Gray, Luke Campbell/Sylar | Gabriel Gray, Sylar & Peter Petrelli





	1. The Highland Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: Petlar friendship, eventual, slow burn Sylaire. 
> 
> Disclaimers: When I am writing, it's foremost for my own pleasure.

1.  
The 19th of August, 2012  
The Highland Dream, the Port of Akureyri, North Iceland

“Micah says the potable water hose has been disconnected and we are ready to raise the anchor,” Claire stopped by the door of Peter’s cabin. 

“Okay..” The older Petrelli looked up from his map, a little confused by why it was Claire who reported this to him or why it needed to be reported in the first place. Usually, Micah would just arrange for the anchor to be raised whenever. “Was it something you wanted, Claire?”

“Well, yes. We don’t ever speak much. Can we speak?” 

“Of course,” Peter nodded, indicating his bunk for her to sit on. The cabins weren’t exactly large, though it was very useful to have nine of them on board, even if it meant their sizes had to be smaller. 

“You know uh..I enjoy being productive. The last few months I’ve spent on this boat have been the best of my life. I like being the secret face of the Petrelli Movement, giving people advice, keeping them safe, providing intel. But I’d like to do more, I can do more.”

“Alright. Such as?” Her uncle was open to suggestions.

“New people appear on board from time to time and we take them somewhere safe, like the colony up here on Hlíðarfjall. Some of them don’t like to talk, but some of them have told me their rescue stories. I know what you and Claude do, risking your lives for any Evo who needs it. And Sylar...they always tell me about Sylar. I can’t help, but think...Where is he, Peter? He can’t be far, since he’s always around when you need him.”

“What are we supposed to do? You made it clear that you did not want to see him or talk about him. So we don’t. It’s fine that way, it’s fine with everyone.” Peter had long learnt that it wasn’t easy to change people’s minds about Sylar.

Claire sighed and reached to pull a black scarf off from a hook attached to the bulkhead, “I know for sure that this isn’t yours and I also know that the latest rescue was achieved by shapeshifting, an ability you do not currently possess. Is he here? You can’t tell me he’s not.”

“Not right now, no, that would be creepy,” the mimic claimed, “uhm...he’s up on the mountain, helping the camp set up a perimeter.”

“Oh, Sylar and creepy, what are the odds! He could shapeshift into anything! He could be you at this moment!”

“He hates shapeshifting unless he absolutely has to and I can understand why. It’s not pleasant for one, physically or psychologically. Especially as it was forced on him for a long time.”

“Is that supposed to convince me of something?”

“Look, Claire, he doesn’t want to be here, not when you’re around,” Peter tried his best to explain, “he says your attitude towards him reminds him of a time he wants to forget.”

“But he shouldn’t forget! Not one of the people he killed, not one of the harmful things he’s done!”

“You are right of course, but uh..you should also consider that a stance like that isn’t productive, not if we want him to be successful in making up for it.”

“He can’t make up for it, ever. Am I the only one who sees that?”

“In some ways, he already has. I don’t know why it mattered to me in that way, but I have been keeping count. He had saved more people’s lives than he had killed.”

“Peachy. And how does that make it okay?”

“See? That is why I didn’t want to talk to you about it. That is why he isn’t here. He comes when we need him, that’s enough.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to be here in safety, but that,” Claire pointed towards the scarf again, “that doesn’t make me feel safe and I’m not going to pretend it does.”

“Yeah, it is partly out of consideration for you that he doesn’t show himself. But he has to sleep somewhere.”

Claire jumped off the cot in alarm, “shut up! He sleeps here? With you?”

“No, I mean sometimes. He has another barge, a smaller one we don’t take everywhere, such as this far. But usually, he’s on his own boat, that’s where he sleeps,” Peter felt the need to stress. He was friends with Sylar of course, but he didn’t want Claire to assume anything more that wasn’t there.

“So is that where you go? When you’re not here. When you fly off somewhere.”

“Mostly,” Peter admitted, “you know, I don’t want him to stay alone for too long.”

“Huh, what! That’s it! So you don’t trust him either after all.”

“Hey, it’s not that. Nobody does well alone.”

“That is not true.”

“Alright, he doesn’t do well alone. He needs me and the Movement, and our people need him just the same. He’s the best asset we’ve got.”

“Great. So if I want to help with missions, there’s no way around him?” Claire summarized what she’d heard.

“I haven’t done any missions without him to be honest and I’m not about to start now,” Peter was steadfast on that. It has been a while since the carnival and he was really fed up explaining Sylar’s ways to everyone, “I don’t mind you coming, we do need more people, especially for this next undertaking, but I need to know there won’t be any disagreements between you two when we should be concentrating on other things.”

“Ask him, okay? I will stay quiet,” the girl was petulant.

Peter pursed his lips in a pensive way, “he will not like you coming along.”

“Oh, and I will make sure to watch his feelings,” Claire said sarcastically. 

“I will talk to him, don’t worry about that,” Peter took his task seriously, “I’ll handle it.”

“So what is this big mission you’re onto?”

“Maybe you should start with something smaller.”

“What is the mission, Peter?” Claire was somewhat bad tempered given the dismissal, “I’m no child, remember? And had experienced more than any normal twenty year old too.”

“The plan is to take over one of Renautas’ smaller compounds in Colorado and free everyone there. I don’t have an exact timescale yet.”

Claire was thrown a bit back, “what, on actual US soil?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time. But yes, it is a bigger operation so it would be useful to have another pair of helping hands. However, we have received a distress call from Nova Scotia and I am going to send someone to check that out first. We could use our public relations liaison to make contact.”

“You mean me? I am not against that, actually,” Claire ultimately agreed to the smaller operation first, “how do I start?”

“We lost contact with this girl a couple of days ago. It is not unexpected under the circumstances, so we will have to start looking for her at her last known location. We know from Micah that she hasn’t been apprehended as she is not on the system. You could try looking for her as if she were a long lost friend.”

“How long before we are there exactly?”

“You need to give me some time to organise the particulars.”

Claire nodded, turning with a spring in her step, “well, it feels good to be useful.”

“Be ready, okay? It could kick off any time,” Peter imparted as a good night. 

Tbc


	2. North Atlantic

2\.   
20th of August, 2012  
The Highland Dream, 60.2732130, -31.8415385, Somewhere in the North Atlantic

“What? You’ve got to be kidding me!” Claire stood on deck, facing Sylar, head held high and with a defiant expression on her face.

“How else do you suppose you want to get to Nova Scotia quickly?” Peter sighed in desperation.

“I thought we would sail, or the very least, you would take me,” the young woman scowled at the both of them.

“You don’t understand. There are other considerations to regard,” the older Petrelli held fast.

“Sylar taking me, alright, but flying? Flying, Peter? The very ability he took from Nathan out of all people!” 

“See, this is what I mean, Peter,” Sylar intercepted, “we can’t possibly work with these arguments popping up in the middle of a mission,” he argued matter of factly.

“Never! I wouldn’t argue in a middle of a mission, I’m not stupid!” Claire spat at him. 

“And I don’t need to use flying,” the ability collector finally took the bait, “I can fly using telekinesis just the same,” he tilted his head in thought, “no, better. I don’t like using flying anyway.”

“Really? Apparently you don’t like using a lot of things, or so Peter tells me. Why kill people for them then if you’re not even going to use them? The thrill of the hunt?” The young woman stood her ground.

“I don’t do that anymore,” Sylar closed his eyes for a moment with a deep breath. He was tired of having to explain that to people as well.

“He finds using some powers problematic,” Peter took to some more proving that Sylar had changed, “and it is exactly because he had killed for them.”

Sylar sighed, “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with a full disclosure and I’m not sure at all this pair up will work.”

“Well, it’s this or nothing, a chance for the both of you to prove that you can cooperate,” the older Petrelli slid into his role of the leader of the Movement. 

The other New Yorker shrugged and Claire pulled close, determinedly putting a hand on Sylar’s shoulder while stepping right onto his toes, “I assume this is a good enough position for taking flight?”

“Uhm..I should probably hold onto you,” he asked for her permission.

Claire nodded, steeling herself as Sylar snaked a hand behind her, but she herself tightened her grip on his coat as they lifted up into the air faster than she would have liked. “We need to make speed if we want to get there sooner than the boat would,” her boogeyman guessed her thoughts.

“Great. You don’t have Matt’s ability, do you?” Claire swallowed down her anxiety. 

“Eww. That would be horrible. It’s a disgusting ability. And I do not want to know what people think.”

“Of you? I don’t see why not,” the blonde rolled her eyes. While the cold could not harm her, it was still uncomfortable. She should have put on more layers for the high altitude ride. Instinctually, she pulled a little closer. “Do you not have some ability that could keep us warm? You may as well use it if you have it.”

Sylar stared at her for a moment. “I have, but I don’t use that either.” Claire’s mouth opened in protest, but then she shut it again when she understood that he was referring to her biological mother’s pyrokinesis. This was going to be such a fun ride…

Tbc


	3. Nova Scotia

3  
Later on the 20th of August, 2012  
Dingwall, Nova Scotia, Canada

Sylar barely sat Claire down behind some trees by the harbour when their proximity for network coverage resulted in both their phones pinging at the same time, heralding texts telling them that their target, Aisla Kellie, the Evo 17 year old resident of the coastal community they had landed in, has been taken by Renautas after all and was on her way towards the US border. “How are you with superspeed?” Sylar barely waited for the location of the van to be given before he pulled the blonde against him again, “or I could just leave you here.”

Claire shook her head. “Don’t you dare! Superspeed like The Flash or some creepy superspeed a la Sylar?”

“Superspeed like Daphne Millbrook,” the New Yorker didn’t give further explanations till he leapt into the air, though this time she had to hang on tighter or lose her grip as the lush hills of the island disappeared in a flash. It was only after their speed was steady and high enough for them not to bump into anything or be detected that Sylar added, “I’m sorry I had to use flight this time, it works better in combination with superspeed,” he deadpanned.

“How do you have this?” Claire found herself curious enough to ask. “Daphne being around, that was before your reformed time or whatever you like to call it.”

“I just subconsciously absorbed her power empathically without realising I could. Then one day I was running at superspeed.”

“Oh, nice. So all the rest of your killings were for no reason at all. Good to know,” she couldn’t help, but note.

“Do you mind a little crash headfirst into metal?” Sylar was blank faced as he indicated the van before them as he slowed down for they caught up with it.

“Why does it have to be head first?” She found however that Sylar was kidding since he landed them on the road in front of the vehicle instead, but slowed the vehicle down with his telekinesis before it could crash into them. Renautas agents, well aware of and ready to fight Evos, already started shooting, with none of the bullets reaching them of course. 

“Go get the girl, I’ll cover,” the New Yorker indicated he wanted her to go round the van. Not because he would have had any trouble dealing with three Renautas agents quicker, but because he knew their prey was going to trust Claire a lot more than himself. Only difficulty was calibrating flinging the men in a way that secured their incapacity, but didn’t cause their death. The ‘one of us, one of them’ policy was expected, so he avoided the energy blasts coming out the paid Evo’s fingers without much thought needed and immobilized the man’s hands with his puppet mastery. For a good measure of safety, he slowed down time in a bubble only around his target with the time manipulation he had perfected after taking it from Hiro. The driver, another Evo, seemed to have a protective field kind of power so Sylar could not do anything with him for the moment, so he simply ignored that for the time being   
and floated round to see why Claire was so delayed.

“I can’t bring her,” the young woman indicated the dark haired girl sitting right at the door with her head lulling, “I think she’s been drugged and her leg’s hurt.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Sylar declared before he reached for the rescued prisoner. The next moment, he was doubling over without being able to make as much as a sound while the nerve endings of his entire body screamed torture. It was gone with the next breath, but it left him woozy and nauseous.

“That seems to be her power, you know,” Claire raised a hand, “even through clothes or other materials. I was going to warn you not to touch her.”

“Were you really going to?” Sylar had some difficulty directing the remaining Evo’s bullets away from them for the moment, resulting in one reaching Claire arm and two his back.

“No permanent damage,” the girl managed to utter in reassurance of her powers’s effects on them, though it was clear she was still severely under the influence of some sedative.

“We need to go now,” Claire indicated the other two approaching trucks with most likely reinforcements. She knew a human army wouldn’t even cause any trouble for Sylar, but who knew what kind of Evos they had with them. 

The ability stealer swallowed down his vomit with a nod and reached out again, only for the Evo they were trying to rescue to scramble back and fall, making it clear that her leg did not support her indeed. “No time for this, I said,” Sylar showed his impatient, anti-social quality and busied himself with keeping back the approaching enemy.

Claire rolled her eyes at his attitude and went down on her knees to the girl, “we are here with the Petrelli Movement. I know it is a leap of faith to trust strangers, but we all have to do it sometimes when there’s no other choice. You have to trust that we have a plan of how to take you out of here,” she looked up at Sylar, “or do we?”

“I’m going to use a power called disintegration to make the molecules in my hands just far enough for her power not to affect me, but remain still solid enough to hold her,” Sylar understood he had to explain for the trust to kick in.

“See?” Claire stood as the other rescuer pulled Aisla into his shimmering arms, “is it working?” She enquired, looking up at the dark man, “you don’t look good to be honest,” she observed the sweat that broke out on his forehead over his green hue. 

“It’s now or never,” Sylar indicated she should hang onto him and the next moment, they were high above the trees and heading for cover behind the hills.

Tbc


	4. Near Tidnish

4\.   
Later on the 20th of August, 2012  
Somewhere Near Tidnish, Nova Scotia, Canada

“Sylar! Sylar!” Claire didn’t dare to shake him in case it made their flight manoeuvres worse. They were in some barely controlled freefall more often than not as it were, Aisla was scared out of her mind and holding onto Sylar tighter, which only made everything more difficult to control for him. “Sylar, keep it together! If we skydive, Aisla will not survive it!”

“A little..further safer,” the changed man panted, “just hurts..to breathe,” he explained his troubles with speaking. 

“Sylar, keep awake!” This time, she did grab his chin to shake him out of the threat of closing his eyes, “the bridge, get under the bridge,” she indicated the long, wooden suspension bridge over the river. While it wasn’t a very sheltered place there, it was out of sight and hard to get to for a human.

“Ouw,” his landing amongst the pines wasn’t great, but he did make sure to land on his back so that he shielded the teen from the fall. His ribs relented it and he bit his lips to muffle a scream. 

“Off, get off of him,” Claire found herself shouting at the girl to prompt her to get away from Sylar and give his overworked abilities a breather, not to mention it being obvious that he was only able to marginally filter out Aisla’s ability. “Are you okay?” She finally remembered that she was there to deal with the girl.

Aisla knelt up with watery eyes, trembling, “he shouldn’t do that. I don’t know if it would kill him because nobody has been able to hold onto me longer than a fraction of a second since my mother died a few years ago.”

“Don’t worry about him, he’s pretty much indestructible,” she heartened, but she was secretly peering at the man worriedly herself. Sylar has pulled his legs up and wrapped an arm around his stomach, with his other arm that he used to hold Aisla with, shimmering in and out of existence uncontrollably. Claire winced in sympathy and instinctively put a hand on his shoulder to ground him and funnily enough, the shimmering slowed, then promptly stopped.

“I’m fine,” he rasped shakily, without any indication that he was going to open his eyes. 

“I can see that, clear as day,” Claire rolled her eyes. “I’d try to call Peter, but no bars,” she indicated that her phone wasn’t working in the wilderness.

“No need, I will be fine in a moment,” Sylar corrected himself.

“And then, we’re walking. I don’t want you to try that stunt again,” Aisla was somewhat ambivalent about the nature of her rescue as well, “I know where we are and how far we need to go for network coverage. I’ve been camping around here before.”

Sylar pushed himself to his feet somewhat haltingly, “lead the way then,” he gave the girl a big berth this time.

“You’re taking your sweet time healing,” Claire observed him using tree trunks heavily for support as they made their way through the forest and the wheeze accompanying the action.

“Does it ever occur to you that healing doesn’t come as freely and easily to everyone as it comes to you?” Sylar snapped between grunts of effort to move. 

“I didn’t think it worked differently..I mean it still doesn’t make sense. You should have healed by now.”

“You’re not worried about me little Claire-Bear, are you?” Sylar gave her one of his signature grins.

“I am worried about our ride, yes,” Claire did not like the Nova Scotia weather.

“It will be dark soon and we do need to find shelter,” Aisla agreed with some of her worries, “these woods aren’t people friendly at night.”

“Not necessary. We will fly to the barque, not a problem, just give me another proper moment to rest,” Sylar protested. 

Claire fixed him with an investigative look. “No. You’re too pale. I’m not risking Aisla falling into the freezing ocean for your proof of some heroic tendencies.”

“How far are we from a phone signal?” Sylar asked the young girl instead.

“You won’t get one here. We would need to sneak closer to town. I could do it maybe under the veil of darkness?” The girl sounded pretty certain. 

Sylar raised a hand in her direction, then a bang and crash was heard against a tree, with a drone now lying in pieces at their feet. “I’m pretty sure they will have sent a lot of these after us. I think we should go before those find us. I don’t want to risk revealing the barque’s location if we leave it too late.”

“Alright, fine, if you think you can do it,” Claire finally agreed. 

“Are you sure you have rested enough?” Aisla was also weary of the plan. 

“I have, plus I’m making some modifications to how I’m using my powers. I’m going to partially freeze my hand and keep it that way so that nerve endings don’t come into play,” he understood he had to be sociable enough to explain it to the girl so she didn’t object too much.

“And that won’t hurt you either in a different way?” The teen wanted to make sure.

“Stop worrying about him,” Claire dismissed the idea by showing the way and stepping onto Sylar’s toes flippantly again to one side, leaving room for Aisla on his other foot.

“Hold on tight, we’re going to have to go fast,” Sylar heralded the move.

Tbc


	5. Labrador Sea

5\.   
The Early Hours of the 21st of August, 2012  
The Highland Dream, 49.8906563, -50.8748391, The Labrador Sea

“What happened?” It was Sylar who Peter reached for first after they landed in a disorganised heap on the afterdeck of The Highland Dream. While he knew his friend would be fine on the long run, his paramedic instincts told him to reach for the man’s pulse as he appeared to pass out in his arms. 

“I’m covered in Sylar’s vomit, that’s what!” Claire got rid of her hoodie regardless of the shivery cold night, “eww!” She shivered her disgust. 

“It’s my fault,” Aisla pulled back timidly away from everyone, “because of my power. I didn’t mean it, I’m so sorry!”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Peter understood even as he watched Sylar curl up on his side with a practically convulsing belly, “we’ve all been there. Aisla, is it? Welcome to the Underground! We have a cabin ready for you to rest and regroup, figure out your future, if that’s okay with you?” He presented her with the hope he was planning to give every Evo in trouble.

“Of course!” The stranger’s kindness was the last drop in the glass that made her tears spill over, “I don’t know how to thank you! I just wish I could do something to cancel out my power with people I can trust, control it somehow.”

“If there’s a way to control it, we can teach you,” the head of the movement promised again, patting Sylar’s arm in relief as he uncurled a little, “but for now, Claire can take you below deck for a little peace and quiet.”

“No, no, I need to see if he recovers. He held me for an hour flying, that is impossible. Nobody can bear that,” the girl was overwhelmed.

“I’ve told you, Sylar can,” the blonde grumbled, fed up with the other’s concern for the pathetically moaning murderer. 

“Fuck...Sylar, do you need anything, can I help with anything?” Peter was just about on the verge of getting his medical kit out.

“Pain..” The superpowered Evo pressed his hand to his ribcage under his black woolen coat, “it’s getting better though,” he assured his obviously worried friend, “I can breathe now, it will be fine.”

“Is this normal? Does it ever take you this long to recover?” The Petrelli man couldn’t help himself asking Claire as he let Sylar lean against him, “careful with the getting up, take it easy,” he cradled him from behind in sympathy at the moans that still left his friend’s lips. 

“Try being melted by lava and see how long it takes you to recover,” Claire intercepted, “it was my closest ever attempt. If West wasn’t there, I would have stayed in a puddle in the crater.”

Aisla looked from one to the other, “really? You people are amazing!”

“I’m sorry, but I would love some sleep,” Sylar was keen on getting out of everyone’s sight in his vulnerable state.

“Alright, let’s go,” Peter helped him onto unsteady feet, holding onto Sylar’s hips. He didn’t like how the New Yorker’s head lolled against his chest, his forehead ending up on Peter’s shoulder. “Can you walk, man?”

“Yes, but I’m afraid you might have to take on the task of undressing me,” the taller special showed he was getting better by jesting and taking the first step in their cabin’s direction.

“I’m so done with his theatrics,” Claire sighed, “come on,” she nearly instinctually touched the teen as she ushered her in the same direction, “see? He’s fine.”

Tbc


	6. 43.6086019

6\.   
21st of August, 2012 - Daytime  
The Highland Dream, 43.6086019, -61.6897180, The North Atlantic

Claire was arranging the deckchairs around the table for the celebratory lunch they usually had the day after a successful rescue operation to help any respective newcomers ease up around them when Peter stepped onto deck, “damn cold, isn’t it?” He brought some blankets out for the cause. They had been too used to mooring around the Meditearanean for a long time, but their mission was more important than hiding out any longer. “How is Aisla?”

“We didn’t sleep much, I had to tell her everything I felt wise about the Movement. She seems very thankful, and she wants to help.”

“She’s too young for that kind of danger. We shall find her a good Evo family.”

“One that can’t touch her? Let’s be realistic. She’s about the same age as Micah.”

“Our safety lies in keeping our numbers low at any time, you know that. But for the time being, we might actually need her in Colorado,” he peered under the tray cover that the sandwiches were under. 

“Hands off, we spent an hour on those,” Claire slapped at his hand, then paused, “and how is he?” She looked into the direction of the stairs leading below deck.

“Sylar?” Peter was somewhat surprised by the question, “I don’t know, still sleeping. But he seemed fine before. Why do you care?”

“It’s just..I wonder, why did he take so long to heal? There’s something wrong with that, I’m telling you.”

“Well, yes, of course there is.”

“Care to elaborate?” Claire nodded her impatience and put a hand on her hips.

“He said he didn’t want a full disclosure, but...well, I’ve already told you he has some problems accessing powers he took by force.”

“Is he serious? Playing around with that isn’t very useful in a combat situation!” The girl was scandalised.

“Claire, I don’t think he’s playing it. It’s psychological. That is why he can’t pop to places like Hiro.”

“You want to tell me that all of a sudden Sylar has developed a nuisance of a conscience?”

“It wasn’t all of a sudden. I’ve seen it happen, bit by bit.”

“And you’re worried about me not being prepared for missions? Don’t you think that’s a bit ridiculous under the circumstances?” 

“He’s still the most powerful Evo out there either way. I have our ground forces in position, we will attack tomorrow.”

“Good morning to you too, beautiful,” Sylar hummed as he stared at her while leaning against the deckhouse, clearly having been there for some time and having heard at least some of the conversation.

“Are you hungry?” Peter pushed him towards the table, eager to change the subject. 

“Amn’t I always?” The taller man wasn’t referring to food however, though he did sit down to appease his friend and avoid further conflict. Claire huffed and moved on with her organising the rest of the table, but had to stifle a smile. She couldn’t deny it was fun to see Sylar squirming and desperate like that. Which also meant that she was starting to believe he wasn’t faking his guilt, at least not entirely, not the way Peter was always patronizing him. It didn’t mean she wasn’t disgusted, or angry with both of them for it though. But today should be about Aisla so she will ignore her feelings and antagonism to be able to show the girl she was safe with them. 

Tbc


	7. Eagle County

7.  
22nd of August, 2012  
Edwards, Eagle County, Colorado

Alarms were blaring defeningly as Claire ran down the eerie, lifeless corridor that reminded her way too much of Level 5. It was hopeless because she couldn’t possibly open every door and disconnect every prisoner from their sedatives drip down here in the basement of the Renautas holding facility. Erica Kravid had been clever enough to keep this part of the premises free of electronics and so before their attack, Peter and co. had been unaware that there were specials down there, not to mention the number of them. Claire paid no attention to the occasional bullet reaching her, nor to Peter’s urging voice in her ear that they had to go as it felt hard leaving people behind. She instinctively knew when Sylar was behind her, it had been clear enough through her earphones that Peter had sent him after her to bring her back, as well as from the lack of agents attacking her, being dealt with. “Why do we need to go?” She rounded on him, “you can take all the guards and agents out, can’t you?”

“No. Harris always has a number of Evos with ability dampening on every site. It is only due to luck I haven’t ran into one yet. Peter thinks it’s better if we save who we have on board already instead of losing everyone and becoming prisoners ourselves.”

“And you always do what Peter tells you to?” Claire mocked. 

“No, but he is right this time,” Sylar held up some forcefield that trapped arriving prison guards at the other side of the infirmary.

The blonde looked round the unconscious patients, all in their separate cages for good measure, “we can’t wake them all, but you can lift this level completely out, can’t you?”

“Lift it out?” Sylar furrowed his eyebrows. 

“Telekinetically take the building apart and fly this part out and away. Should be no problem for you.”

“Well uhm..I don’t think Peter..”

“Forget Peter for once already! Do this for me and I will not bring up your killings ever again. That’s a promise. Better yet, do this because you’re not a boogeyman anymore. Show me!” The Indestructible Woman was well aware that she was goading him, but she found it feasible that it would work. That serial killer had been way too desperate for validation lately. “Can you do it?” She stomped a foot.

“But of course I can, Claire Bear,” Sylar knew he was falling into the trap of satisfying Claire’s wishes, but he didn’t care. She was one of those people who really mattered to him in terms of what they thought of him. “Ready?” He grinned as the entire foundations of the building started to shake and break apart at the seams, making the guards fall back at the side left behind. A moment later they were in the air, with Claire having to explain to Peter shouting in her ear asking what was happening. 

“Tell him to cloak it, make it invisible, hide it from radar at least. And we still need his cloaking for the helicopter as well!” The leader wasn’t happy they were deviating from the original plan, but was ready to improvise, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“I can hear you, man,” Sylar concentrated on the manoeuvre, missing the fact that they were also getting fired at from the ground. 

“We rendezvous at the original planned destination,” Peter hoped to still have some of the operation under control, “Mohinder will be there to receive any injured or incapacitated Evos.”

“Copy that,” Claire looked up at a transfixed Sylar to see if he’d heard that too as she helped one of the stray bullets out of her arm. 

“Sylar, damn it, your cloaking of the helicopter is intermittent!” The sound of bullets was heard from Peter’s transmission as well. “I need you to fix it!”

“Sylar?” Claire moved towards him to prompt him out of his targeted concentration. He was rather littered with bullet holes and was leaning against an examination table, but the severed level of the building was still flying high above the hills. “It’s a little eerie really, don’t you think,” she commented at the floor looking literally invisible even to her.

“Peter..” The intuitive special panted, his elbow folding so that he was now leaning lower onto the table, “is it fixed?” He proved his attention was divided between tasks. 

“You don’t know?” The other man was thwarted by the illogic in Sylar not knowing if he managed to use his powers or not. “It’s okay, Claude’s nodding at me that it is,” he finally answered the question.

“Don’t forget to heal too maybe,” Claire commented, looking at the bullet holes amply oozing blood, but showing no signs of getting rid of the bullets.

“Just a moment,” Sylar groaned, gripping the table hard, then the level of the building was sitting amongst crushed vegetation, close to the site of their Icelandic retreat at last when the ability collector was finally able to use Hiro’s space jump. 

“Are you okay? Can you keep up the helicopter’s cover from here?” The blonde was dubious.

“Not to worry,” the man took deep, deliberate breaths in a desperate attempt to keep conscious. 

Claire was beside him by this time, easing him down onto the ground, “shit, shit, shit, don’t you let them go, do you hear me! They have at least half a dozen escapees on board!” 

“I wouldn’t dare, princess,” Sylar seemed to have responded to her goading, even as the words were barely whispered and hard to hear.

“You need to heal!” Claire slapped him on the chin half-heartedly, “this is not the time for more theatrics and being embarrassed to use my power in front of me!”

“I would heal if I could,” the dark haired man marvelled up into Claire’s magical green eyes from her lap, some part of his consciousness fascinated by the care she was offering him all of a sudden. 

“Mohinder?” The blonde called out to the doctor rushing from one bed to another, checking all their rescuees like he was supposed to on arrival. The professor spared them a curious glance in response as it wasn’t the position he would have ever expected to find those two in, but remained focussed on taking the vitals of his sedated patients. 

“How do we know if Peter is still safe?” Claire stressed for the lack of a radio signal to contact him directly from this far away.

“I’ve got him,” Sylar insisted, though his eyes closed again as he turned to the side to make sure he wasn’t throwing up on Claire again. His nausea however decided to torture him further and remain present without release. It was feeling like it was getting dark instead, creeping in from the edges of his closed eyes. Mohinder seemed to try to talk to him, but he didn’t even hear what was said, only the geneticist’s hands on him, who must’ve eventually decided to stick him with some needle. Cold liquid filled his veins and he wasn’t sure what else happened. It was all in the background, till there was nothing.

Tbc


	8. Container Bridge

8.  
23rd of August, 2012  
Evo Camp, Hlíðarfjall, Iceland

“Where is this?” Sylar looked around his unfamiliar surroundings comprising of the inside of a scarcely furnished container home and some bright light blinding him from the doorway opening.

“Don’t ask me, it was you who landed here with a large chunk of concrete!” Peter showed his anger from the edge of the bed where he was sitting, “and by the way, our damn helicopter is still invisible and undetectable on radar!”

“Oh.” The telekinetic drew back into himself for a moment, concentrating. “Is it better now?”

Peter straightened his neck to peer out the window. “Yes. Pretty useful if you don’t want people walking into it!”

“Uhm..I’m sorry.”

“You can keep that power up forever while you’re unconscious, but you can’t heal yourself?” Peter accused, pointedly finishing sealing a bandage closed on Sylar’s abdomen, “since when and why do I have to dig bullets out of you?”

Sylar squinted, showing disorientation with himself as he drew back into his mind again, “I don’t...I maybe…”

“Well, shit. Claire was right, you’re a mess. What am I going to do with you now? You’re not the easiest person to find a therapist for.”

“There’s no need,” Sylar pushed himself into a sitting position with a wince and tried his luck again before peering under the bandages and pulling them off, “see, I can do it.”

“Eventually...That’s great,” Peter grumbled, “and what happens the next time you decide it’s a good idea to feel guilty about one of your powers?”

Sylar shook his head, “it’s Claire I think. It feels wrong using her power around her..”

“That’s fucked up, man,” the paramedic had his hands in a fist, angry for his sake.

“Is it? You don’t like being reminded of Nathan, she must feel the same being reminded of certain traumatic experiences.”

“It will be damn traumatic for her if you fail to protect her when it matters, don’t you think? You have to admit it, you’re a wreck! I’m taking you off missions till you have things out of control.”

“You can’t bench me, we’re partners, equals, remember?”

“Foremost, we are supposed to be friends who look out for each other.”

“I can help! I need to help. Because it would mean that one day I will maybe feel like I’ve done enough good to make up for all the bad.”

“But you already have,” Peter squeezed his shoulder encouragingly. 

“And who else knows that besides you?” Sylar fiddled with the blanket he was covered with, uncomfortable about the subject. 

“They will eventually,” Peter muttered, his tone virtually admitting the truth telling it differently. “But I do know. And in all reality, I think Claire knows it too if that helps. She wouldn’t have cooperated with you this well otherwise,” he added sympathetically at Sylar’s distraught expression. 

“Are those prisoners alright?” The reformed man needed to know how much more he was able to balance the scales this time.

“Some of them are still recovering, but they all want to meet you, their true rescuer. It should help you, seeing their gratitude.”

“But it’s not their gratitude I’m really looking for.”

“I know.” Peter knew as well it was Claire’s forgiveness and acceptance Sylar really wanted above all as he had been in love with her for years. There could be no secrets between them behind The Wall. “But at least see what powers they have. Taking them on empathically might eliminate the need for using the ones you don’t want and can’t reliably use.”

The casual watchmaker shook his head, “no, I think that is one of the problems. There are too many powers in my head, interfering with each other, like an overload. What would help is getting rid of some, especially some of those problematic ones.”

“Getting rid of them? How is that possible?”

“I haven’t tried it yet, but I think it should be practicable the same way as I took them once. Shaping a brain to accommodate it.”

“You don’t mean..?” Peter was dubious of Sylar’s intentions for a moment, unwittingly proving the point that the intuitive Evo will never be fully trusted by anyone, not even by himself.

“I think I can do it, to shape a brain telekinetically to pass a power on. But to make sure it’s without any ill effects and that I can really do it well, I’d been thinking about this for weeks, I’d like to, I need to try it on someone who will not get hurt either way.”

“Alright, then I can take healing and you can experiment on me,” the Petrelli was always ready to help.

“No, Peter. I’m not risking your life on a temporary power that sometimes swaps itself to another without you knowing or planning it. There are too many Evos around, I have too many powers myself and I will be right next to you. You understand how that is a really bad idea? I would try on you second, sure, if it works, but..”

“Are you talking about Claire? I would doubt she would agree to this.”

“Maybe not, but you know I’ve been thinking about this, she might like an active power? If I can give that to her, her mother’s or her father’s or whatever else she might like, there’s a possibility she would want that.”

“You don’t want me to ask her, do you?” Peter was not looking forward to being in Claire’s bad books again. The looks that woman could give could scare him.

“Maybe we can do it together?” It was the solution Sylar was hoping for. When he teamed up with Peter, those were his most successful occasions. 

“Actually, she’s been asking for you..” The Petrelli found a string of hope in his mind that he could build his reasoning on, convincing himself foremost that the question wasn’t going to land on deaf ears.

Tbc


	9. Lesser Powers

9.  
26th of August, 2012  
EVO Camp, Hlíðarfjall, Iceland

“I want what you have.” Miss Miracle Grow stood her ground as stubbornly as ever. 

“What do you mean what I have?” Sylar froze. He didn’t expect that answer from Claire.

“I think my dad called it intuitive aptitude in his files.”

“You can’t have that!” Peter and Sylar were unanimous with the declaration.

“It’s what would make me feel safest with you, it would be like equaling the playing field.” At least her logic was sound on that account.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, it is a power that is very hard to control,” Peter objected vehemently, “I couldn’t even and I have a lot of practice with different abilities. I took it from Sylar accidentally before and had to get rid of it quickly.”

“You did?” Sylar was puzzled, “again? When?” He snorted, amused, “I can imagine why you didn’t say anything though.”

“The less mentioned, the better,” the Petrelli determined, “the point is, it is too dangerous. Especially around other people with lesser powers.”

“Don’t you know me? You think I’m gonna kill someone?!”

“Trust me, the information overload alone can drive you crazy,” the original Patient Zero added. 

“I want to have it also because I need to understand it, I need to understand you. Isn’t it redemption, forgiveness you’re after? This is your best chance,” Claire knew she was throwing bait. “Besides, if it goes wrong, you can just remove it the same way, right? I cannot get hurt, remember.”

“The effects would be too unpredictable. You claimed yourself being the catalyst of the world ending before and perhaps you’re right.”

“I’m not asking you, Peter! This is between Sylar and I.”

“Sylar?” Peter asked for his opinion, “you see sense, don’t you?” He hoped.

The manifold powered man shook his head, “if that is what it takes her to forgive me, then..”

The paramedic sighed, “I can’t stand in the way of that I guess.” It was Sylar’s whole life's purpose lately.

“Then go. Let us do it now before I change my mind,” Claire sat next to Sylar excitedly.

“I was intending to keep an eye on you, make sure everything goes well,” Peter hesitated.

“No!” The exclamation came from both Sylar and Claire. 

“I don’t want you seeing me do that, ever,” the collector specified.

“It’s a rather intimate process,” Claire explained at the same time, “you know, it’s the inside of my head.”

Peter threw his hands up in the air, “whatever, you crazy people. Just remember, I said I told you so!” He rolled his eyes as he backed out, “I can’t believe I just agreed to this!” He was going to stay close either way, perhaps just behind the door. Maybe even find an Evo with the ability to see through it and borrow it for a moment. 

Tbc


	10. Messy Business

10.  
Later on 26th of August, 2012  
EVO Camp, Hlíðarfjall, Iceland

“So should I just lie down on the bed?” Claire was very straightforward with her wishes, acting without hesitation. If she was scared at all, she didn’t show it.

“Uhm..no. Might be too messy,” Sylar manoeuvred himself out of the bed too, though he was the one rather slow and hesitant. He didn’t expect Claire to agree so easily, it had been a battle he did not need to win and it had thrown him a bit. 

“The floor then?” The blonde had no reservations getting herself comfortable there, but she waited for the answer that also wasn’t coming quick, “are you alright to do this?”

“Yes, I can do it, I’m sure.”

“It’s just, you kind of look exhausted.”

“I am. Having this many powers and keeping them under control is exhausting.”

“You should have thought about that before,” the woman didn’t wait anymore till she positioned herself on the cold floor of the container, only covered with a cheap rug. 

“Looking forward to your powers, little Claire?” Sylar couldn’t keep himself from teasing. She did look like the notion of it being wrong hasn't even crossed her mind. “Feeling entitled, are we?” He said smoothly, as if stating the obvious.

His penetrating, knowing gaze burned her more than any invasive operations he was going to do. “Are you going to get on with it or not? I’m ready!” She hissed at him, like she usually had.

“In a moment. You need to let me concentrate,” the collector leaned closer, putting his fingers to the sides of her head. 

“Are you not going to take the top of my skull off again?”

“I am trying to devise a method where I don’t have to, but I will have to at least cut into it this time. I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? And all the other times you weren’t? With people who couldn’t take it and would die?”

“It’s the hunger, you’ll see and I am sorry for each one. You can still change your mind about which power you want. I haven’t started shaping your brain yet. Watch out, this will hurt.”

“Not that much for us and you know it,” Claire felt the blood dripping down the side of her face more than anything else, “you’re not restraining me?” She raised her hands to look at them curiously. 

“You don’t need it, do you?” Sylar’s voice changed to a softer tone and he strained as he clipped a blood vessel telekinetically to reduce unnecessary bleeding, partly so it didn’t obscure his view. 

“You’re essentially a neurosurgeon, you could do so much good,” the young woman wanted to keep it conversational as it felt rather weird, indeed intimate when Sylar was examining her brain, “what do you see?”

“What I see is how special you are.” The subject came up often with Sylar, “more of your brain is involved with operating your power than I’ve seen with anyone else. It’s amazing to be able to see it again. You still don’t understand how beautiful it is?”

“What are you doing?” Claire did freak out a little at this point, “it feels like you’re caressing my brain.” It was best not to forget she was dealing with a creep here, someone who thought of her brain in a sexual way by the sounds of it. No matter how long he had disguised himself in sheep's clothing, Sylar was a wolf.

“Caress? I don’t see how you could feel this, no nerve endings here and I’m trying to be minimally invasive. It shouldn’t be much different to electrocorticography.”

“Then why don’t you stop making noises as if you were having an orgasm!”

“The heavy breathing? This requires intense concentration, you should know that. Now I’m at the point where you need to definitively decide what you want. I have a whole shopping list of abilities right here in my own skull that you can choose from.”

“I just want the best.”

“My ability is far from the best. You have no idea.”

“But your ability is what makes you the only one able to acquire as many abilities as you want. I want the best.”

“Your choice, missy, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Sylar leaned even closer, almost as if he would have wanted to kiss her pink lipstick covered, shining lips, “poor girl, I’ll let you look for your own answers.” He did hover his finger closer to the opening this time and closed his eyes for better concentration, “there it is..” His voice resonated close to her ear.

“Are you done already?”

“Yes. It was easier than I thought. I’ve removed my telekinesis clamping down on the wound, you may heal now.”

“But I don’t feel any different.”

Sylar snorted, “you won’t, not until you meet another EVO and then come the struggles,” he declared matter-of-factly, “and I would like to see that! Do we have a new monster on our hands?” He twisted excitedly in anticipation. Serves Claire right to find out how hard it is to control his ability! 

“Alrighty then,” Claire rubbed some blood dripping down off her forehead before getting ready to leave. 

“Wait. You need some training first.”

“I’m sure Peter will watch me like a hawk as well besides you, so no, maybe I don’t.”

“Not training for control. I mean training how to use it. Look, there’s an old radio receiver on that shelf. Fix it, let me hear you contact the ship with it.”

“What you want me to do?” She looked at him, puzzled.

“All the parts, how they fit together, there’s always a pattern, music, a beautiful symphony accompanying every complex system. Oftentimes played by a whole orchestra, where every person has to play their parts for it to come together. If you know what to look for in that radio, you will know everything. There’s a certain harmony in everything, destructive or upbuilding, it doesn’t matter,” he got lost in the love he had for the universe, in the excitement the hunger gave to consume all knowledge.

By this time, the blonde wasn’t listening though. Pursing her lips in determination, she reached out for the broken, dusty radio. She barely took the back of it off before a picture of the receiver circuit completed itself in her mind, resistors and transistors and inductors included and while she couldn’t name those contraptions, she knew where a bit of the wire needed coiling and where the amplifier needed connected to the speaker. “Pretty simple design, is it not?” She said the words at the same time as wondering how she could even think that.

“Well, it’s a superheterodyne receiver, so you can’t expect much more,” Sylar grinned, “and now, we are even more alike.”

Claire held back from saying they were nothing alike like she'd initially intended. She was too eager to go out into the world, find some more of those connections that so fascinatingly made sense in the inside of an antique radio. Driven by a similar curiosity, Sylar followed her out like a puppy for them to be faced by some Russian they have previously encountered before on the base, who’s superpower was his impenetrable skin. Claire wasn’t too interested in that, though she did step in the man’s way twice on purpose to keep him back so she could study him more. “It’s not a natural mutation and not all of his cells have the code,” the blonde whispered to her follower, “how do I know that?”

“Because your understanding is intuitive, it doesn’t need a lot of prior knowledge, just like with the radio.”

“My god, what does that mean?” She wondered, “do you understand everything? That is terrifying!”

“Pretty much,” Sylar didn’t sound happy about it either, “it’s a curse.”

“How do I know what ability a person has if I haven’t met them before? How do you choose them?”

“You can make a good guess on the basis of what areas of their cortex are lit up with activity.”

“So sometimes you didn’t even know what ability you took before you took it?”

“Yes, hence the opening of the skull,” he said calmly, leaving emotions out of it.

“And how do you do it now?” With her eagerness, Claire looked like she was going to bounce on some poor soul they’ve rescued on a previous mission with the ability to cast everything in darkness within a mile radius.

“Very similar to how Peter does it. I do have his empathy after all.”

“Teach me that, now!” Claire narrowed her eyes at him, insistent and urging. 

“Girl, you don’t want those powers, they're not exactly useful much,” he tried to steer her away from staring at some of the other specials, which was starting to look awkward. 

“But I want to know how it works,” she seemed rather engulfed by an elderly woman, and pulled towards her, “how do I know who..” The blonde started to look for someone with active powers, find one that she could fulfill her wishes with. 

“Claire?” Sylar questioned her intentions as he didn’t think it would take this little time for the young woman to lose control. He followed her like a shadow as she ran through the camp, only looking at people for one moment before ruling them out. It was a man called Rami she stopped in front of, a French architect with the power of manipulation. “You don’t want that one, Claire. Too much like me, remember?” He tried to deter her. 

It worked, till she turned to find a Hungarian minding his own business taking out his trash from his sleeping container. Marton Lukacs had the ability to grow vines however and the next moment, Claire was pushing him against the wall, hands on his temples. 

“What’s happening?” The man questioned, though he was still patient with her. With the amount of evolved humans in the one place, incidents like this did occur sometimes. 

“I can’t see inside your head!” Claire was frustrated and didn’t let go. Defensive vines did appear at her feet at this point, but so far, they didn’t attack her. 

“Stop, please stop!” Peter appeared from somewhere as well, with a hand on her shoulder. 

“I don’t know if I can,” the blonde was ostensibly sweating with the effort. 

As a result, the vines pulled up higher round her legs. “Uhm..will somebody tell me what is going on?” Lukacs pressed. 

“You are safe here as promised, Claire can’t harm you, she doesn’t have the ability,” Peter reassured him, “please feel free to carry on with whatever you were doing.”

“I would like to be left out of experiments if it’s not too much trouble,” the Hungarian ascertained for good measure, “I’ve had enough of those at the Racsos Institute back home in Budapest.”

“Yes, no, you don’t even need to as much as talk to Dr. Suresh either if you don’t want to,” the Leader of the movement patted the other special on the shoulder as a form of reassurance, “we are here if you need us though.”

“I was going to talk to you about my duties here and what I can offer the community, but I can see this is not the best time for your niece,” Lukacs nodded at him before all the vines he previously grew dropped to the ground lifelessly and he strode off with a nod.

“Thank you for your understanding,” Peter flashed the ghost of a smile. This Leader stuff wasn’t exactly his style. When he turned back to the other two, he found Claire shaking in Sylar’s arms, her forehead against his chest. “I can’t do this,” she peeked out at the empath, terrified, “I need to understand everything!” 

“You wanted it,” the Petrelli man was frustrated enough to say, “but maybe you should let Sylar reverse the process.”

“Give her more time,” Sylar suggested, “she got the hang of discovery too quick. We can teach her restraint.”

“These thoughts! How do you have a peaceful moment! They won’t stop!” Claire was practically seething at the phenomenon happening inside her head.

“If you do want it out, just say the word,” the taller man reassured her as well.

“No. If you can do it, then so can I,” the blonde was more than hopeful.

“Well, you do have the advantage of not having to figure it all out on your own, and you can relate to people easier than me as well,” Sylar summarized. 

“I’ve tried to use empathy, but I don’t know how. I need to learn quickly, because what if I attack someone else!”

“We understand that need,” Peter offered his support as well.

“Don’t let the panic control you,” Sylar added on an even tone, keeping as calm as he could, hoping it will have an effect on her.

“This is the panic you felt all the time,” Claire digested the information, “you didn’t want to kill anyone, it was the urge. It pained you and it is a balance between two types of anguish. I understand that now,” the blonde let them know of her thought process as it happened. Still in Sylar’s arms, she pressed her palms purposefully against his chest, “I don’t need anyone else, I can take it from you, I can take all that you have and that would be too much for me as it is for you.”

Sylar paused for a moment, his attention turned inside himself, “well, you already did, Claire. I believe you just went over my cortex and copied telekinesis.”

“I did?” The woman was incredulous, but wasted no time in raising a hand in the direction of the truckload of logs that were waiting to be used to build houses. She then pulled her fist back towards herself in a swift motion, resulting in the cargo tumbling off and taking a roll to the site of the construction of their base.

The New Yorker snorted, “I was going to say start slow, but I guess that’s not necessary.”

“I don’t think I took anything else, but there’s a lot in there fit into a small space, it would take a deeper look to figure them all out.”

“Actually, I think you should leave brain surgery for another day,” Peter suggested with utter seriousness, “do you think you can content yourself with figuring out the theory of aerospace engineering or thermodynamics for the time being?”

“No. It’s the emptying of the mind, meditation that she has to learn first,” Sylar interfered again.

Claire wouldn’t let go of his shirt, “yes, yes, do that, I can’t stand this urge.”

“Come,” the master of intuitive aptitude took her by the hand, “concentrate on the feel of my skin only for now. I’ll take you to one of the most peaceful places on Earth.”

“Don’t bring her back before she can control it for sure,” Peter warned, “this is a damn dangerous game we’re playing!”

Tbc


	11. Mount Cook National Park

11.  
The 30th of August, 2012  
Mount Cook National Park, South Island, New Zealand

Claire had to tear her eyes away from the rocky landscape of glaciers in the distance. She had never been a big nature enthusiast or landscape photographer, but this particular view of Lake Tekapo was the most majestic pasture she could have ever imagined. Sylar was right. A place where no sign of humanity ever existing spoiled the horizon was the best place for her now. Not much could torture her curiousity for knowledge and understanding here, bar for the universe itself. “Sylar.” She looked over at the man cleaning his face in the clear lake. “Do you ever think of visiting Venus or Mars? I mean, technically, we could both do it, right now. Terrifying, right?” Claire had long acquired flight as well as space manipulation from him and the harsh conditions of other planets could not hurt them much either if they as much as had some rudimentary space suit. 

“I think about it all the time. I want to go a lot further too, but for now, there are things to do here on Earth.”

“For our kind,” the blonde finished the sentence. “Of course. But let me do it though, a proof of my competence with all these powers. At least till the Moon.”

“You’ve only had a few days of training..”

“But you would be with me. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“One of us accidentally makes the Sun explode?” Sylar was only half joking. 

Claire closed the distance between them, fully enjoying the crisp sound her boots made on the pristine, maiden snow of the New Zealand winter. “I’ve never thanked you for all this,” she stood before him, words empathetic and soft like the icebergs swam in the waters of the valley. It was with the full understanding of his plight, of what he had been up against on his own, his pain over not being able to control his power for so long. She knew that having his power would make her understand him and maybe forgive him, but she never anticipated just how fully. “If not a visit to the stars, then as another test, let me do for you what you wanted all along. For someone to take the burden of some of those powers away. I think I can do it, erase them from your brain, whichever you want.”

“Intuitive aptitude?” He was only hesitant because he never thought it was a possibility before.

Claire was not one bit surprised by the answer, “anything else?” She waited patiently for Sylar to weigh up his inclinations.

“The only ones I care for are telekinesis, healing, flight and electricity, though that last one just for sentimental reasons.”

“I’ll leave those alone.”

“Don’t take it all Claire, it’s hard to deal with that many,” he taunted her with a wolfish, knowing smile.

“I can see that,” the young woman could say that with the backing of full understanding as well, though she rolled on the ball of her feet awkwardly, a little weirded out by the task she had volunteered to herself, “so you wanna lie down in the snow or what? I need to see inside your head.”

Sylar shrugged and grinned goodnaturedly as he positioned himself, not completely on the ground, but leaning against a boulder just sizable enough for Claire to fit behind at the right height, “so are we really doing this?”

“You trust me?’ The Petrelli girl was a little incredulous. 

“You were really good at plugging that volcano in a way that it doesn’t cause tension anywhere else on the Ring of Fire. If you can understand paleomagnetism and number theory, then I’m truly not concerned.”

“I meant you trust me not to take my revenge on you, kill you when you’re vulnerable?”

“I don’t think you would do that, that’s not you. Especially not now, with so much at stake.”

“Why not?” Claire questioned herself as well at the same time.

“I could state many reasons, but mostly because of your whole journey. Even after you found people with abilities, you felt utterly alone knowing you were different. There’s nobody else like you, not really like you, somebody who can understand what it is to live forever. You are reluctant to remove the familiar. How much of a chance is there you are going to meet another person with this ability? Am I right?”

“I got used to you way too much,” Claire rolled her eyes at herself after a short pause of digesting his words, “I’m sorry my father didn’t help you. He should have helped you, at least when you were partners.”

“My history with Noah is too complicated and wearying for a resolution. He cares for you deeply, you should concentrate on that. Do you need any guidance?” He referred to the top of his skull having been removed. “I can see you made sure my nerve endings didn’t report pain.”

“I shouldn’t have done that,” the woman was only half joking and took a moment to glare at him. It was part of their banter.

“You’re a quick study, Claire Bear.”

She narrowed her eyes, “quicker than Peter?”

“In the way of not getting stuck on mental blocks for too long, looking at different perspectives, definitely. By lightyears.”

“Uh, these neurons are firing around wildly so much in your brain, I’m surprised you don’t have seizures.”

“I can assure you, there are plenty of ill effects,” Sylar found himself garbling the words due to something she was doing, “hey, there’s no reason to dig into my Broca’s area.”

“You’re wrong, I do. There are some brain cells here connected to intuitive aptitude,” Claire was amused, “your own ability is the only one you haven’t seen, have you?”

“I mean you could maybe do it in a way I don’t lose my ability of speech production,” the reformed man had to admit he didn’t quite trust Claire not to make a mistake, as unintended as it would probably be. His thoughts even started to come slower.

“Are you okay? I didn’t really bother with the blood vessels and I’m taking a long time to understand just one power. Sorry. If you fall unconscious, don’t worry, I’ll just put you back together..”

“I wouldn’t worry if I was unconscious,” Sylar tried to lighten his own mood, “how are we doing up there?” He tried to look at the woman and judge her expression, “any progress?”

“You tell me,” Claire pulled her hands back dramatically, pausing in her work and giving Sylar’s tissues time to come together a bit, “so?” 

“I..I don’t really know yet. I can’t forget complex systems I already investigated.”

“Never mind, commencing removal of the next ability,” the blonde hesitated a lot less this time, not giving Sylar time to object or even get ready, mentally, “this is amazing,” she seemed into it. “A whole list of exciting abilities!”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t take more than you can handle,” he reminded her again, “I’d prefer if we could keep digging in each other’s brains to a minimum.”

“I want to understand all of them,” the young woman sounded eager, with her nose hovering close above him. She kept her hair out the way telekinetically.

“No, no, think Claire!” Sylar panicked, especially when he found that he was at the blonde’s mercy given that he couldn’t move all of a sudden. It wasn’t telekinesis that stopped him, it was more like a clamping of some of his synapses. “You should understand that taking all would be too much. You see that, don’t you?” He tried to calm himself.

“There it is,” the former cheerleader seemed engulfed and determined, “flight. It doesn’t belong to you.”

“Fair enough,” the man from Brooklyn was prepared to give that up, if that was her revenge, especially if “are you finished yet?”

“I think so. Here’s your skullcap back. Are you okay?”

Sylar was relieved to find that he could raise his hand and keep his calvaria in place with it till it healed up, even if he had to give up on gulping repeatedly and throw up all over himself instead. “Oh, fuck, I messed something up didn’t I?” Claire moved round the boulder to face him, feeling guilty.

“It must just be the bleeding, too much pressure in my brain, but it should stop in a moment,” he encouraged her. 

Claire leaned forward to touch his shoulder, a place that wasn’t covered in either sick or blood, “maybe you should lie down a bit till then?”

“No, that wouldn’t help,” Sylar tried very hard not to throw up again. His whole head felt as if it were bobbing up and down in the clouds, but he clenched his teeth together and endured, for Claire’s sake. She shouldn’t see him like this, not after she’s already seen him vulnerable. Besides, he didn’t want to alarm her that she wasn’t great at performing operations just yet. Sylar found himself grunting with the effort, but at least the tears stayed put, as well as the rest of his coffee from the morning. 

“It’s still taking you too long to heal, longer than I do,” Claire judged as she sat on the boulder to wait for his recovery, “I don’t like it.”

Sylar raised an eyebrow, “I thought you despised me for using your ability.”

“You don’t understand everything, do you?” She looked him in the eyes.

“Everything can’t have changed in a few days. You understand my reasoning, but some antagonism based on the past will always remain in your subconscious, if nothing else, it cannot be helped.” To his surprise, Claire reached out and clasped her fingers with his this time, “I’m sorry I didn’t see before. I’m sorry I didn’t help before. But you should be fine now. You will never have to fight with intuitive aptitude again.”

“Thanks to you. But you do,” Sylar reminded them, “and I promise to be by your side every time.”

“Are you okay now then?” Claire watched somewhat disgusted as Sylar cleaned his winter jacket with telekinesis, removing particles that didn’t belong there, “ew, gross.” 

“Yes, thank you,” he made the mess disappear too, for her sake.

The petite woman wasn’t convinced. Sylar wasn’t as quick answering back as usual and he made no attempt to get up. “I swear I didn’t temper with your cellular regeneration,” she scrutinized him further, “you should be indestructible.”

“I know,” he shrugged.

“Good. So did I pass the test?”

“That wasn’t really a test.”

“Another test then, I shall take us home,” Claire was eager to get Sylar safely back to the camp, “Peter should still be in Iceland. Nothing new was planned for the next few days, as far as I know.”

“Do you think you’re ready? With all those mutants as company?”

“That’s what I’d like to find out. Seriously.”

Sylar raised an inquisitive eyebrow while considering this option and lamenting not being able to be alone with the beautiful woman anymore. His shoulders dropped when he sighed out, “huh. No problem. Give me a moment,” he seemed to take his time getting to his feet. It’s not like he could teach her anything else, it was all in the practice. 

Tbc


	12. Considered Dangerous

12.  
The 22nd of December, 2012  
Renautas Facility, Fort Lee, New Jersey

Peter felt strange being back at the bunkers Pinehearst once used to contain those individuals they’ve bagged and tagged who they’ve considered dangerous. Renautas had been no wasters of resources so they often reutilized old Primatech Paper or their rival’s facilities. “Are you alright?” He looked over at Sylar, who looked like he must have felt similarly triggered. Alike the many things and memories they shared, mind games have been of a high order for both of them at that place once. 

Sylar’s eyes did seem distant till he blinked himself back to reality, “‘’m fine,” he said, more subdued than Peter would have liked. “Renautas sure like keeping people sedated,” Sylar commented at the comatose occupants of the cells. 

“No doubt it’s partly because this way it will be harder to free them,” Peter held. 

“I’ve incapacitated the guards on level three,” Claire reported in, “I have five specials with me, ready to board the van.”

“Ours are unconscious,” Peter complained, “and way too spread out for a common mode of transport.”

“I managed to hold back the alarms,” Micah’s voice arrived through the speakers, “I don’t think anybody had the chance to alert headquarters. You can take as much time as you need,” he assured the men.

Sylar nodded at his friend at the announcement, and they took off in different directions to different cells to wake the prisoners. His first wasn’t too interesting and he sent her in the direction of the rest of his team, but the second one he tried to wake was “Luke?”

“Is that you, Sylar?” The younger man grabbed for his arms, wanting to make sure he was real, and not some drug induced dream, “I knew you’d come for me!”

“Where have you been?” Sylar also wanted to physically feel the other’s presence and didn’t let go. He’d asked himself several times what could have happened to the young man.

“I’ve been trying to do my own missions, killing agents, helping our kind, like you. Especially after I heard you were in the movement! That’s how I got caught.”

“Uh..that’s not exactly how I’m doing it these days. But you can join our ranks. Can you help with freeing everyone on this level? I’ll introduce you to Peter after.”

“The famous Peter Petrelli?” Luke suddenly became even more awake, despite some drugs still in his system, “he’s a legend!”

Sylar ran his hand through his hair, feeling awkward, given that his past was colliding with his present again. He pushed Luke through the doors and into the opposite direction to the cells he was going to. “Where’s that doctor?” The younger man stopped by a window where only medical equipment could be seen.

“What Doctor?”

“There’s usually one here behind the screens, monitoring everyone’s status, making sure nobody wakes up.”

“I didn’t see one when we came past,” Sylar removed the glass telekinetically so they could peer in. The man under the desk raised his hands.

“Peter, I believe somebody may have sounded the alarm after all,” the New Yorkian let his friends know, “what, what are you doing?” He stood in front of Luke, who had a hand raised towards the man wearing white, with the doctor screaming already.

“Giving him his due punishment. You have no idea what they were doing to us over and over in here.”

“Actually, I have a pretty good idea.” The ferocity in his icy eyes did not leave any doubts to that, “I’ve had the pleasure of similar treatment myself.”

“If you understand, then step aside.” Luke was pretty confused by Sylar’s behaviour. 

“We don’t have time for this, the reinforcements are probably on their way. We should concentrate on the rest of the prisoners.”

“It will only take a second,” Luke decided to step round him instead, teeth gritting, nostrils flaring and the next moment, the doctor was emanating heat plumes, skin boiling. Sylar hesitated. For the victim, it was certainly too late and he wasn’t about to attack his once proteje, but he wasn’t looking forward to maybe having to explain the situation to Peter, or to even Claire, his part in it.

“He would have deserved some lengthy torture, but if we’re in a hurry..” The younger man took off towards the next cell as if nothing had happened. 

Tbc


	13. Container Home

13.  
January the 30th, 2013  
EVO Camp, Hlíðarfjall, Iceland

“I don’t particularly like my food microwaved,” Sylar turned his piece of chicken breast around on his plate. He wasn’t eating much else either.

“It’s pretty handy when you’d have to defrost it first,” Micah determined, “I was going to make an appliance to do it this quick, but now I don’t have to,” he referred to Luke’s presence at the camp. The Icelandic winter would have been brutal in those container homes if not for the specials with heat and energy producing capabilities. 

“But Luke wants to see the world, Australia, Japan,” Sylar had to control his breathing not to seethe while thinking about the young man.

“Really? That guy outright worships you. I thought he wanted to be stuck to you, closer than a shadow,” Claire laughed, “he already told me, like a million times, how you saved him.”

“There are people to be helped everywhere by the Movement, he’ll get the chance to see the world from the boat,” Peter suggested.

“You aren’t proposing taking him with us?!” Sylar was scandalised as he glared, his free fist clenching and unclenching as he tried not to explode.

“I would like to keep an eye on him as unstable as he is,” the leader called the situation, even if he didn’t know the extent of how much Luke had embraced the Dark Side. 

“I don’t know if I can do that, Peter! I don’t think I could stand him shadowing me all the time,” he growled. Imagining it felt like his skin crawling already as the young man reminded him of everything about himself he wanted to forget, “if not here, then can we drop him off in Italy or somewhere?” It was where their other base camp was.

“We can see how it goes in the future,” the leader allowed, “but for now, I think it’s too early to cut him loose. Most of the time you could stay out the way if you wanted, you’re good at that anyway.”

Sylar frowned, “can I just go to sleep and wake up after it’s done?” He really sounded done and desperate.

“I don’t think he’d appreciate that. He needs your guidance.” Peter was always one for pointing out responsibility.

Sylar took a deep breath, willing his fists to loosen. “I was thinking to send you on a smaller mission, just the two of you, I’m sure it would help,” Peter offered, “he would feel more appreciated and take our values on board if they came from you.” 

The watch repair expert groaned, “just what I needed,” he mumbled, but everybody understood that his sarcasm was his way of accepting his fate. Ultimately, he always accepted Peter’s judgement when it was about moral considerations as he didn’t trust himself with that one. He looked up in surprise to find Claire’s hand atop of his on the table, giving it an encouraging squeeze. 

“I can come along. I know a thing or two about how to handle trigger happy individuals.” Though nobody knew which man in her life Claire was referring to this time. 

“No. Luke is my responsibility, I made him what he is today,” Sylar fidgeted uncomfortably, nervous for being possibly put in the wrong light again. His reputation was precarious at any time, still. 

Claire smiled at him this time encouragingly, “maybe, but who’s the only other person who’s not going to get hurt if something does go wrong with Luke?”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Peter agreed, “it’s that Hungarian holding centre Marton Lukacs was talking about. They don’t have the firepower of similar Western centres so the three of you should be enough to handle it,” the leader put his hand on Sylar’s shoulder to show his trust.

Sylar took a deep breath as another sign of acceptance and shared a look with Claire, “some reconnaissance first would be good.”

“I will show you everything I know about the facility,” Micah flipped his laptop open, “just let me finish dinner.”

Tbc


End file.
